ON November 23, 2017, the 20th Anniversary Thanksgiving and Ble-ssing Ceremony of sending missionaries overseas was organized. Praises were dedicated to God through the theme hymn “Make known His deeds among the peoples”.
The President of SCAC, Rev. Dr. Tie King Tai, explained that the theme hymn was based on Psalm 105: 1, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.” He further remarked that twenty years ago, SCAC sent her own people as the first cross-cultural missionary overseas.
As David faces the challenge from Goliath, SCAC also faces huge challenges when starting from scratch. However, SCAC is thankful that God has made all things in his time. SCAC took ten years in planning, praying and exploring. With the support of Rev. Ting Daik Choung, SCAC sent out her first missionary overseas. Since then, SCAC has sent around 60 missionaries to the foreign mission fields.
SCAC is grateful and pray that the Lord of Harvest (Matthew 9:38 – KJV) will continue to call more missionaries into his harvest. The goal of the Mission Board for 2020 is to send 100 missionaries.
When proclaiming God’s love and deeds among the nations, SCAC must not forget her own people in Malaysia, especially those who are led away to join the majority. They are also loved by God. We need to show them in a special way that we care for them as God loves them.
A Blessing and Commissioning Ceremony followed. Four missionaries were commissioned abroad; they were Tie Wen Wen, Judith Liew, Matthew Ting and Diana Wong.
Tie Wen Wen: My mission field is Indo-China where I will be serving through education. I hope I can use my counselling profession to bless the people there. Through this, I hope to bring people to know the redemption of Jesus and then lead them into the kingdom of God. This is an unknown path for me and I hope that churches will pray for me as I will be serving in a delicate environment.
Judith Liew: God has proved his call for me in three ways. At 18, I was touched by the Holy Spirit and professed to go into missions one day. Then through his words in the Bible, God encouraged me not to run away from such calling, because he cares so deeply for people. God also used people around me to confirm my calling through encouragement and reminder. I also had a dream (seeing unsaved people perished). So, I must go! I will be serving in Southern Thailand. Honestly, I am quite scared and worried as I will be facing the M groups and challenges including learning a new language and adapting to a foreign environment. Please pray for me so that I have courage, passion and also protection from God.
Matthew Ting: The local pastor in Japan once told me that Japan is the “graveyard of Christianity”. Like what Shusaku Endo writes in his book “Silence”, Japan is a bottomless swamp, unsuitable for the survival for Christianity. Thus, this is a mega task for me. What I can do is to rely on God with a humble heart to learn and to love.
Diana Wong: The Commissioning Ceremony takes only a while but the missionary ministry is a full-time calling. I made a promise to work hand in hand with my husband, Mathew and the local colleagues and the organisation that sent me. When we face difficulties, may the Lord sustain us, revive us so that we shall remain strong by and through his grace and power. Keep us in your prayer.